In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems are deployed onboard aircraft to provide entertainment services for passengers in a passenger cabin. The IFE systems typically provide passengers with television and audio multimedia entertainment programming.
One type of IFE system is a “server centric” architecture where multimedia content is located on a server or a set of servers installed in an electronic bay in the airplane. Video content is played through displays installed at overhead locations or within seatbacks, and associated audio content is played through jacks provided in seat armrests.
Another type of IFE system is a “seat centric” architecture where content is stored in mass data storage devices located at individual seats and played through associated seat displays. The server (or set of servers) acts as an injection point for content that will be later installed locally into the seat mass data storage devices, and also acts as a secondary source for content that may not fit in the seat mass data storage devices.
There has also been an emergence of wireless systems providing connectivity within server centric architectures and seat centric architectures. These systems typically require less installation effort and use servers installed in airplane electronics equipment bays to provide content through Cabin Wireless Access Point (CWAPs) installed at spaced apart locations in overhead compartments of the airplane. Differences in architectures and aircraft seat layouts between aircraft necessitate separate and independent wireless IFE system setup configuration and testing by vendors and customers, which negatively offsets some of the advantages that can be provided relative to non-wireless systems.